An acclaimed headteacher who was chief executive of the Durham Federation of Schools will go on trial this afternoon accused of a string of sex offences.

Anne Lakey, 54, won national recognition as chief executive of the federation after overseeing the biggest improvement in GCSE results in the country.

She will appear at Durham Crown Court facing eight charges said to have been committed on a boy under 16 during a 12-month period in the late 1980s.

Previously appearing at magistrates’ court, she denied two counts of inciting a boy under 16 to commit an act of gross indecency, two counts of gross indecency on a boy under 16 and four counts of indecent assault on a boy under 16.

The offences were said to have occurred when she was a teacher in her late 20s, but the alleged victim was not a pupil.

The federation where she was chief includes Durham Community Business College in Ushaw Moor and Fyndoune Community College in Sacriston, which last year was named the country’s most improved secondary school.